Empress of the Night
by IanaLy
Summary: Link is certainly no stranger to taking risks. After he got paired up with Midna it's been jumping from one perilous adventure to the next, But there is something out there that even the Hero will find difficult to set right. a realm detached from the rest of the world holds a key piece to their puzzle. Light and Twilight are not enough; the Night holds great power.
1. Introduction: The Stroke of Midnight

**Introduction: The Stroke of Midnight**

 _"Look, look!" the little girl squealed to no one in particular, pointing at the stars. She found the only time she was happy was after the sun had set, when the night came. It was her friend and no one bothered her or shouted at her. Alone was the only way she worked. But solitude can be a curse far greater than any other, turning a loving heart cold and numb._

The Empress of the Night opened her deep blue eyes, two bottomless oceans at night with a few silver specks of light. She curled her long elegant fingers around the armrests of her ornately tinkered black and midnight blue iron throne, supported by gold cushions held in place by the throne's spiraling ornaments, depicting the changes that took place from day into night.She blinked a couple of times, expecting something to have changed, but of course it hadn't. Nothing ever did change in this world, in her world. The Night was always what it was, nothing more, nothing less. Dark, sullen, beautiful, full of hopes and dreams waiting for the Day, which never came. Not since the Empress had taken the throne. It was her fault, she knew that all too well. She should never have let herself get tricked like that and now her sorrows had been bludgeoning her into the ground for the past 200 years. The Empress ran a hand through her long, thick black curls, until it reached the ornate headdress she wore as a right to her throne, a right she did not desire in the slightest. The midnight blue leather band was adorned with black engravings of a feral beast, her own personal beast, with long fangs and jewels for eyes, jewels the exact same color as her eyes.

She stood up and stretched, once again taking in her spacious throne room. The room itself was never lit, so in the evenings and at night it appeared dull and gray, more like a cavern. The only light in the room was that, that would come from the outside, from the stars and the moon, through large ornate windows that reached from the polished wooden floor to the arched ceiling, covered in stained windowpanes. She found herself at those same stained-glass windows increasingly often, staring and praying to the Goddess Hylia, desperately hoping her voice could reach her. The Empress chanced a glance at the wall, at the antique clock, shinning with an eerie light. It read five minutes until midnight, until the full weight of her curse settled upon her once more. The clock was an instrumental piece in her damnation, but was nonetheless a gift from him. Him, who understood her, loved her and then betrayed her. Even thinking about him was bittersweet.

 _With feline stealth and grace born of years of practice, she swung her body out the window and onto the wooden ledge. She balanced, swaying a little and then transferred her weight_ _onto the banister that led to the thatched roof. With a final heave she landed, side-first on the roof and swung her legs over the edge, looking at the sky. The sun had set before she started her climb, so she sat gazing at the starry sky, the light breeze playing with some wispy clouds. It felt invigorating and equally thrilling to be alone and far away from the conundrum of her daily life. She had lost track of how long she had been doing this, seeking refuge high above the city while it slept, away from her mother's neglect and her father's abuse. The only thing she knew was that it had started when she was but a child and now she was nearly a woman, yet she still sat at the same spot every night. She sighed contentedly and lay on her back._

 _"Hello there." called an unknown voice from the shadows._

 _She jumped upright and turned to face the owner of the voice. "Who's there?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Show yourself!"_

 _Heavy footsteps shuffled closer. "I'm sorry to have frightened you." The figure slowly emerged from the reclusiveness of the shadow, arms raised as in surrender. "I mean you no harm."_

 _To her surprise, the moonlight revealed a handsome young man, some years older than her, with glistening silver hair tossed around by the breeze and slightly slated eyes the color of mercury. He gave her a slightly anxious smile as she sat back down. "Who are you?" she asked as he plopped down next to her. He smelled faintly of lavender. "Have you been watching me?"_

 _He twisted to look at her, his eyes like spiraling vortexes and she spotted the purple blossom in the breast pocket of his brown doublet. She looked him up and down, taking in his muddy, worn black calf-skin boots, black hose, white tunic and the piercings in his ears; his left only had one, his right earlobe, in contrast, being riddled with holes. He smiled at her, a warm smile that made her insides melt. "My name is Yakuth." he finally spoke. "I've been watching you for some time now." Upon seeing her raised eyebrows he hastily added. "I mean, it's been so long since I've seen anyone as interested in the night as I am. It's so peaceful, isn't it? Without all the ruckus of the day. What's your name?"_

 _She cocked her head to the side, caught off guard by how calm and quaint he was. "My name is Aleth. Nice to meet you, Yakuth. That's a really unconventional name, isn't it?"_

 _"It's a celestial name." he replied, quite simply and, out of nowhere, realization dawned on her like a ton of bricks._

 _That was how she met the Star, Yakuth, son of the Moon and Sun, for the first time._

The Empress sighed. She had nearly forgotten the sound of her true name. _Aleth._ At a leisurely pace she strolled towards her balcony and leaned on the railings, watching the stars. She had once loved and cherished them, but now had grown weary of them. The sky was dark, an indication on that the sun had set in the world of the Light, for the sun never showed his face in the Night. Instead the stars and moon were eternally plastered to the heavens, though the sun's effects were still present, for when there came day in the world of the Light, the sky in her world turned the palest and most delicate blue. She was grateful for at least this much, though she longed to feel the sun's rays on her face once again. The Empress, Aleth, groaned at the unpleasant sensation in the pit of her stomach. She gripped the railing tighter and climbed onto it, standing with her feet shoulder-width apart. She glanced over her empire once again, over the dilapidated hamlets, dismal fields, glittering waters, the austere and foreboding towers of her palace and closed her eyes. The clock in the throne room struck midnight, emitting a low, husky lullaby. The Empress opened her eyes an propelled herself off the railing, hurtling towards the ground, the wind whistling in her ears.


	2. Chapter 1: The Lake

**Chapter 1: The Lake**

"Link!" Midna practically screeched into his ear, going so far as to briefly materialize in her shadowy impish from to glower at him.

"Midna, not a good time," he muttered under his breath and then grunted as he sidestepped to the right, the point of his opponent's sword whistling past his cheek, barely missing it and nicking his ear, sending Link's world into slow-motion. He felt the pinch of the sword, not unlike that of a needle and felt the release of a small rivulet of warm blood, tickling his ear. Link swept his sword to knock his opponent back.

"Give back what you stole!" he screamed at Link, coming to a halt a few feet away from him.

Before Link could reply the tall and gangly, brown-haired and tan-skinned youth lunged at him. Link parried his attacks with speed and agility developed by a lot of practice. For almost a month it had been incessant training for him, facing countless monsters, one after the other. He went on the offensive and, sighting an opening in the taller one's defenses, jammed the pommel of the Master Sword into his stomach, making him reel back, coughing. Without a moment's hesitation Link put the sword to his throat, making him stagger and fall back.

"If you're looking for perpetrators of theft, look elsewhere!" he snarled from his superior position.

Needless to say the brown-haired youth scurried away as fast as his legs could carry him. Link sighed and sheathed the Master Sword. He then brought his fingertips to his cut ear and pulled them away to examine the blood. Ear injuries were always tricky, for they could bleed very little or a heaping lot, depending on where they were located. But given his cut was already forming a scab he deemed it was nothing serious. The crowd that gathered to watch the two young men fight was slowly thinning and in the distance guards could be seen approaching. Slowly the market of Castle Town returned to normal, vendors proclaiming their wares, the sun beating mercilessly on the backs of their necks. The sweet smell of fruit and tealeaves filled the air. Link turned his back on it all and proceeded to leave the market.

"LINK!" Midna screamed inside his head so loud that he thought his head would explode with the singing pain and he had to lean one hand against the nearest cold, whitewashed wall, massaging his forehead with the other.

"What do you want?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Zant's got the Fused Shadows," she fumed. "And we still haven't gathered all shards of the Mirror of Twilight, yet you are doing nothing about it. We can't afford to procrastinate like this."

"For Hylia's sake, Midna, I'm only one man." he sighed exasperated, trying to keep his temper from flaring. "You have no ides how exhausting it is to go through all of this with a physical body, do you? Do you know how much it hurts every time I have to transform into a wolf?" he clenched his jaw.

"I don't care," she hissed sharply, perhaps a bit harsher than she had meant to. "If you didn't feel the need to help every poor soul that crossed your path, we'd have defeated Zant ten times over by now!"

"You really don't have any sense of empathy, do you?" his blue eyes softened to the point where it hurt Midna somewhere deep in her chest when she looked at them. "If I can help them, if I posses the ability, why wouldn't I?"

"Are you okay?" their argument was cut short by the hoarse voice of a short, frail looking old lady. Link faced her. She wore old, tattered clothing and she smelt vaguely of primroses and lilies. Her hair was long and white, tied up in a loose bun. Her face was as wrinkled as sandpaper and she had smiling gray eyes, now filled with concern and a kind reassuring smile. Link gave her a quizzical look. "It's just I was him hit you close to the head. I didn't think it was that bad."

"Oh that," he chuckled. "I'm fine, honestly." he assured the old lady and mentally cursed his impish companion.

"That was some impressive swordsmanship you displayed." the old lady complimented. "William is the best swordsman in all of Hyrule, yet you beat him like he were no more than a mere beginner." he acknowledged the compliment with a nod, slightly embarrassed. Praise always made him uncomfortable. "That would make you the best now." she continued and Link wanted to run away.

"My name is Zusa." the old woman introduced herself.

"Link," the hero replied, bowing his head.

"I was wondering, considering you're such a skilled swordsman, if you would be willing to help me," she scratched the back of her white head. "My husband and I have been trying to deal with the problem ourselves, but you can see we are both well past our prime."

"And what would this problem be?" he asked politely.

"There's this monster in our basement," she explained. "I've already called the guard several times, but they haven't been able to drive it out, the ruddy cowards."

"In that case, I'll be glad to help you." Link offered humbly

"Why, thank you, young man." Zusa looked most relieved. "Come with me." she led him down the cobbled streets, away from the fragrance of the market.

"Link, you're doing it again." Midna warned from his shadow, her voice disapproving.

"Shut up, will you?" the man in question replied taciturnly. He had had just about enough of the imp's selfish demeanor. She had practically no respect for all he had done for her and he had not done little. From almost being killed by poisonous plants, boiling in Death Mountain, frolicking with the Zora in constant fear of drowning, trying not to sink into quicksand in Arbiter's Grounds to evading a slightly enraged yeti in Snowpeak Mountains.

"Here we are," Zusa said opening a low and slightly decomposing wooden gate. The house beyond bore more resemblance to a cottage than a house situated in Castle Town. The widows were small with vividly painted shutters and blooming flowers on the windowsill. A small lantern hung on one side of the polished beech doors, currently not alight. The roof had the shape of a rickety dome, various creeks filled up with straw and moss.

"My husband built it himself, from bottom to top." Zusa explained, noticing how Link had been observing the cottage.

Once inside, something about the warm scent reminded him of his home, Ordon village. The air was tinged with the unique scent only smoke from cooking over the fire, trapped inside closed quarters could produce. Overall the inside of the cottage was as humble in bearing as the outside. Small, simple, with few decorations, a basket of yarn and knitting sitting at the foot of a cushioned armchair.

"Who is it?" a throaty voice asked and from a worn wooden chair raised a short, crooked old man with small spectacles.

"It's just me, Darius," the old lady smiled. "My husband," she added for Link's benefit.

"And who is this young man?" the husband pointed at Link.

"He's here to help us get rid of the monster in the basement." she explained

"Ha! Good luck with that," he waved dramatically. "Half the town guard couldn't get it out."

"You'll have to excuse my husband. He still thinks the guard are what they used to be." she remarked. Link gave her a knowing smile.

"Just let me see what I can do." the hero pleaded.

"Very well, if you're so determined to put your life at risk," Darius opened a trap door with a ladder leading to the bottom. "All yours," he taunted.

Link swung himself down the ladder, skipping the last couple of rungs. The basement was completely dark and he could hear water trickling somewhere, making its lasting impression on the rocks. He reached for his lantern and gasped at how large the basement actually was, at least two times as large as the house above. The walls were solid rock, water pouring down them, but the floor was boarded up with wooden planks, reaching as far as the beginning of the underground river, where boats were strapped to wooden poles, that led to the other side, where the floorboards continued.

"This is a pretty large basement for such a small house," Midna remarked, taking a look for herself in her shadowy form.

"Yeah," Link untied a small canoe-like boat and started rowing to the other side.

Almost halfway through his paddle something black and shiny shot out of the water, smashing the canoe. The young hero tried to reach out, but felt something wrap around his middle and drag him into the depths. He screamed and then saw bubbles form from his breath as he broke the surface. Trashing violently against whatever was attempting to throttle him, he somehow managed to pull an arrow from his quiver and ram it into the foul creature. Its grip loosened, enabling him to swim back up, choking on some water.

"What is that thing?" he saw Midna floating about above him, panic in her voice.

"Midna," he coughed. "Zora armor. Now!" Luckily that jolted her into action and when the creature dragged him back under by his ankle, he could see he was wearing fins. How she'd managed to change his clothes was beyond Link, though he was really glad she did. The first intake of breath of underwater always burned his lungs, but he quickly adjusted and found he could breathe. Now he could finally see what he was up against and quite frankly, he had no idea what the creature was. It had the appearance of a giant, slightly translucent black blob, its skeleton sometimes visible under its shiny exterior. In its centre was an angry red circle, where all of the ivory bones joined together to make a giant joint. A month ago the sight would've made Link sick, but now he'd grown used to seeing all manner of gross things. He shivered. Even through the armor the water was chilly. The blob threw out one of its tentacles at him and instinct alone made him draw his sword. Even though the motion was much harder and much slower in water, he hacked away with all his strength, severing the limb. The creature let out a horrible guttural cry, further distorted by the water that shook the entire river. The smell that followed was even less pleasant as it belched out the contents of its gut in the shape of a rancid green smoke. The hero had to pinch his nose as he watched the severed limb dissolve into nothing. His eyes widened as the creature regrew its missing limb with shocking speed. _It's no good,_ Link thought to himself. He couldn't just go mindlessly hacking away at it he needed a plan. His best bet was to insert a bomb into the creature's middle, making it explode to smithereens. Checking his bomb bag he realised he only had one water bomb left. _Better make it count._ Holding the bomb under one arm and the Master Sword in the other, the young man kicked off, swerving and twisting to avoid the tentacles of the obviously irate monster. One shot past his face, blocking the way, but he pushed through. A tentacle slithered around his legs when he was only fingertips away from planting the bomb. He stretched as far as he could, pushing his arm through the disgusting oozing mess that was the blob. He then let himself get yanked away by the tentacle as the blob started glowing a fiery red before it disintegrated into the water.

Finally Link felt his legs being released and he swam leisurely to the surface and pulled himself up to the bank, panting. His vision swam as his heart hammered uncontrollably in his chest.

"Link, check this out," Midna said somewhere behind him.

He groaned and pushed his dripping form from its horizontal position. Couldn't she at least give him a minute to catch his breath? As he straightened he realized he was wearing the Hero's garb again and was completely dry. "Thanks," he told her.

"You're welcome," she didn't even look at him. She was staring at the wall in front of her.

Link walked up o her. They'd somehow managed to get to the opposite bank from where they came from. The wall in front of them had a mural painted on it, depicting in various stages the sun, moon and stars, a man with silver hair encompassed by the sky, a woman with wild black hair and a black fortress surrounded by monstrous vultures. Atop the fortress sat a cloud and on the cloud there was a green forest. The paint was peeling in places, but he could see every picture was surrounded by symbols he couldn't decipher. The closer he looked the less the cloud looked like a cloud. It looked more like a lake in the sky. And in the lake was something oddly reminiscent of ... a human being.

"What is this?" he asked, confused.

"In the realm of Twilight," Midna began. "There is a legend of a Star who fell in love with a human girl. He would watch her every night, until one day he gathered the courage to speak to her. They fell in love, but with him being a Star they could only meet at night. Desperate to be with her forever he used up all his celestial power to create a realm detached from the rest of existence. A realm where Night would reign eternal. He locked the Essence of the Night in an amulet, which he gave her and crowned her empress of the realm. But she refused to accept this, saying she was still a human and needed the day as well. Furious because she rejected him, the Star made sure she could never again leave the Night. By doing that he used up all his being and faded away into the Black Void, the place of death for Stars, leaving her to rot in his creation." she paused and looked Link in the eye. "Many men have tried to enter the Night, but none have ever returned. I thought it was all a legend," she sighed. "This... this mural is a map. It shows how to enter the Night. Link we must go there. The entrance is just east of North Faron woods."

"Why would we want to go there?" he asked, mildly irritated by her constant bossy attitude. Really, he understood her plight. She was doing all she could to save her people, but the way she went about doing it wasn't right.

"Because the Essence of the Night is said to be even more powerful than the Fused Shadows. We need it if we hope to defeat Zant," she emphasized.

"All right. I get the gist," he rubbed his eyes and slowly made his way back to the ladder.

"Is everything all right down there?" Zusa opened the hatch after he'd knocked against it.

"The monster's been dealt with. The basement's all yours." Link found it no wonder the guards couldn't have disposed of it. The thing had been a real menace.

"What? The boy did it?" her husband asked, surprise evident in his voice from somewhere outside Link's field of vision.

"Thank you." Zusa ignored him. Something in her smile told the young hero she knew he could do it.

The sun was no more than an hour away from setting, something Link had learned from the many days he had spent outdoors. The air was growing crisper with the tinge of evening and everything was bathed in an orange light. He stopped at a nearby inn and bought some food, found a nice dry cave next to a spring.

"What do you think you're doing?" Midna asked sharply as he dismounted Epona. "We're in a hurry. We don't have time to stop!"

At that he had enough. He had been trying to ignore his impish companion, her constant nagging, but now he was fed up. Anger settled in his gut and he was determined to let it out. "Listen, Midna," his voice was stone cold. "Unlike you I am not a shadow. I'm only a disgruntled Hylian who hasn't slept in two days. If you don't want me to storm off right this instant and leave you to sort out Zant for yourself, you'll let me be. Sweet, merciful Hylia, I need to eat, sleep and take a bath. I stink." he sniffed his clothes.

"That's all irrelevant to me..."

"It's not to me!" he cut her off. "That monster did a number on me, I need my rest!"

Midna pouted like a dissatisfied child and proceeded to writhe away in his shadow. How she did that Link still didn't know. The hero took of his tunic, mail and shirt, washed then and hung them to dry, before throwing himself into the spring. The cool water was refreshing and for the first time since hi adventure began he could properly examine his body. There were many more scars on his arms and torso than he remembered, most of them accumulated during the past month. Some were on the way to healing nicely, some would stay permanently. Truth be told, he'd probably have many more scars if it weren't for the fairies he'd caught and all the Chu jelly, disgusting as it was. Sometimes he wondered how he had gotten entangled in all of this. And recently that sometimes was becoming increasingly more often.

The next morning Midna was the crankiest she'd ever been, while Link, rested and cleaned, felt quite good. His beaming smile irritated her greatly and she grumbled like a drunken dwarf. They found a stable where Link could house Epona for an indefinite amount of time, before Midna warped him into North Faron woods. She then lead the way through some bushes to a path he hadn't seen before. Well, to call it a path one would need to have frightfully low standards. The hero had to push his way through brambles and thickets, seemed to scale an endless amount of trees until he reached a clearing. A limestone wall about twice his height stood, crumbling, before the clearing stretching from one edge of the woods to the other. Atop the wall there were dozens and dozens of snow-white owls, staring at him with protruding yellow eyes. He wanted to give them a wide berth, but found it would take too much time, so he inhaled and started climbing. The owls gave one loud screech and flew away into the treetops of the trees overhanging the wall. On the other side the place looked as if it had once been a village. He could see the ruined foundations of buildings all around him and in their centre was a giant, vile looking lake.

"Look," it was the first thing Midna had said to him all day. He looked and saw a skeleton, gaunt and white, dressed in armor half submerged in the lake. Carefully, he inched closer. The skeleton was showing no signs of necromancy, which was good. Link crouched and saw a sheet of parchment next to the deceased. Most of the text had been washed away. All he could make out was: _The Night is real, but it is a dying realm. The Empress has been gracious, but even she cannot return all of us to our homes ..._ Questions sparked in the young man's mind.

"How am I to get there?" he asked his shadow.

"That's easy," she replied. "You have to drown yourself in the lake."

He gave her a look of utter shock. "I can't drown myself, I'll die."

She rolled her eyes. "You won't die."

"No, because drowning isn't dying in your books!?" he screamed in horror.

"Listen. The mural was pretty clear on this. _Willfully drowned and a new world is found._ That's what it said." she folded her arms in indignation.

"You could read the mural?"

"Of course. Couldn't you?"

There was a moment of stony silence.

"Fine, but if I die the blame's on you."

"You won't die," she repeated, bored.

He was already knee deep in the lake when he turned back. "Aren't you coming with me?"

"I can't. I already don't belong in the realm of light, I can't just slip into another dimension."

"Valid argument," he mused as he plunged his head under. And he'd just washed his hair. Force of habit made him take a deep breath, but he knew holding his breath in the current situation would only make it take longer. He exhaled all the air from his lungs, watching ruefully as the bubbles floated to the surface. Moments later his diaphragm began contracting, but he couldn't satisfy it. His lungs burned as though on fire. He wanted to breathe desperately, but he had to drown. Sweet Hylia, why was he doing this? He inhaled a lungful of water and that's when he knew it was the end. He had never been in more pain in his life, as though tiny needles were prodding every inch of his body. Incessantly. But then the pain stopped. He expected the inky blackness to swallow him in, but instead he saw a pair of midnight blue eyes staring into his. He stared into them, his body numb. The mysterious figure stretched out a pale elegant hand decorated with many bangles. Funny, he should notice this. He took it in his own gloved one and suddenly all the pain returned.


	3. Chapter 2: The Night

**Chapter 2: The Night**

This time Link couldn't bear it anymore; he bolted straight for the surface. Dripping, he crawled to the muddy shore and turned on his back, gasping, covering his eyes with his left arm. Right now he had absolutely no desire to look into Midna's stoic eyes, mocking him for his failure. Was he to blame for not being able to kill himself, knowing so many people needed him alive? He sighed heavily. The hero knew ignoring his predicament won't make it go away and he'd have to deal with it, sooner or later. He slipped his arm off his countenance and gazed at the treetops. They were different form what he remembered. The leaves were red, even though summer was in full swing. Also, where he expected the midday sun to blind him, there was only a vast cloudless sky. He glanced around. _A land with no sun? Have I done it?_ There was only one way to find out.

Link scrambled to his feet and called: "Midna! MIDNA!"

Not a sound, not even a leaf stirred. No volley of insults for shouting. He had succeeded. He had arrived to the Night.

From her haven in the shadow of a tree, Midna kept her eyes firmly locked on Link's back as he waded deeper into the lake. Despite their constant bickering she'd grown fond of the young hero. In fact she couldn't imagine what the past month would've been like without his help and rather enjoyable company. Not that she would ever admit it to him. Some things you just didn't do. The imp grew more worried as his head slipped under. She had forced him into doing this. What if he failed? What if he truly died? Nothing on their journey had been guaranteed or certain, but this was the riskiest thing they'd done. Her shadow grew colder with her emotions. They always responded to her emotions. It was an art form, inhabiting shadows, a skill she'd raised to new levels. No creature of Twilight had ever been in a shadow for as long as Midna and survived. Better yet, she'd devised ways to see and follow the events around her from the shadows. Needs must, apparently. Her shadow grew even colder as minutes passed without Link coming up for air. A part of her wished he would come up for air and forget the stupid myth. Bubbles traveled to the surface and then ... just like that his body was gone. Midna rubbed her eyes, but he didn't reappear. Now all that was left to her was to hope Link could obtain the Essence of the Night, a mighty task, and make it back to Faron province safely.

 _Please._

Link sat on the damp ground, pouring water from his boots and squeezing it out of the cap on his head. Honestly, he didn't know what to do now he'd successfully arrived. The land around him was unfamiliar. From this side the lake seemed cleaner, without masses of pollen and algae staining the surface, and yet strabgely bland and murky without the sun's rays breaking, refracting into glittery specks all over. The very colors and smell of the forest around him were foreign. He expected the air to be crisp and fresh given the time, yet it was bland and curiously stagnant. The grass beneath him was a deep crimson, while the leaves of the trees ranged from a thunderous purple and pink to red. His ears combed the area for any sound of birdsong, but only the soft crunching of grass, as though being stepped on, met him. He turned around.

"Hey, mister!" a girl, no older than eight stumbled across the meadow. A little boy that could've been her brother struggled to keep up with her on his chubby short legs. They both halted abruptly before Link, the shock knocking the little boy on his behind.

"Did he come fwom the lake, sis?" he immediately picked himself back up.

"That's not very polite," she chastised him. "You can't go asking strangers direct questions like that."

"Sowy," he transferred his gaze to his shoes, looking abashed.

"It's okay," Link said, having watched the whole display with amusement. "And yes, I did come from the lake."

"Really," the girl breathed, eyes wide, but she composed herself quickly, trying to imitate being grown-up. "Where are my manners? I'm Lala and that there is my brother Samel."

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Link."

"Come with us," Lala grabbed him by his hands. "You have to meet everybody. It's been so long since we last had a visitor."

"How long?" the hero inquired.

"About 100 years in your time, give or take."

"100 years!?" he exclaimed. "Wait, exactly how old are you?"

"I'm eight, Samel is four. You see, time doesn't flown normally here." she stated calmly.

"And how old would you be if time went properly?" he was appaled.

"142 years-old. Now come on. I want to get home before nightfall." she skipped ahead.

"But, Lala, I don't wanna walk all the way back. My feet huwt." Samel moaned.

"Don't worry." Link said as he picked him up and seated him on his shoulders. "I'll carry you." It was nice to know that even though he was a 138 year-old trapped in a four year-old body, he still behaved every inch the four year-old. _But being stuck as a little child indefinitely ..._ the youth shivered involuntarily. Lalaled the motley group through the forest that suddenly turned into a vast expanse of barren fields. He could see a few crumbling huts somewhere in their midst and three black towers piercing the horizon to the north.

"How many of you live here?" Link inquired.

"There are 13 of us left," she explained. "There used to be more." her face was mournful beyond her age.

"What happened," he spoke softly.

"Some died trying to explore the Night on the Empress's orders," they had arrived at a small cleared area filled with ramshackle huts. "The Empress offered to send some of us back."

"Why did you elect to stay?"

"By the time she mustered enough power to send us back, a lot of time had passed in your world. Those who were my friends had grown old and my parents were dead. Samel is all I have left."

Link found there were no words that could display how hollow he felt inside. He diverted hi attention to the black towers. They were closer now and he could see the towers connected with a stocky fortress of black, coarse stone, guarded by a twenty-foot sturdy wall. "Have you ever seen the Empress?" he asked.

"Heaps of times. She used to come out all the time to talk with us and help us. But we don't see her anymore. She just keeps to herself, cooped up in her fortress." Lala spoke eagerly glad the subject had changed.

"What did she look like?"

"She's really pretty. Her hair is long and curly and her eyes are like oceans," she waved her arms around, gesticulating wildly. Link could see she admired the Empress greatly. Her description fit the painting of the girl on the mural in Zusa's basement. He could feel a weight slump against his neck. Samel had fallen asleep. Lala stopped in front of one of the larger huts and unbolted the door. The inside was dim and plain and a woman in her middle ages sat behind a simple wooden table. Upon seeing them she stood up and took Samel's sleeping form from Link's arms and placed him to bed in one of them back rooms. She then stepped to the windows and saw the sky was turning a dark blue. The time of the beast was nearing. She opened a cupboard and reached for two midnight blue flowers, which she hung on the doorframe.

"Who's this, Lala?" she asked sweeping her light brown hair into a bun. She scrutinized Link with smiling gray eyes. Had he seen those eyes before?

"Link here came through the lake, Gashei," Lala beamed, climbing on a chair.

"Did he now?" she feigned surprise. "I think it's time you had a bath, darling. Come on, off you go," she pretended to chase her and Lala squealed with delight and quickly ran upstairs to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

As soon as Lala was out of earshot, a weight seemed to settle on the woman's shoulders, draining all the merriment out of her. The creases on her forehead deepened as she sat down, motioning for Link to do the same. "Welcome traveler," she greeted him. " My name is Gashei. You're Link, I take it."

He nodded. Not wishing the uncomfortable silence to stretch on, he said: "You're very good with children."

She smiled sadly. "I had a daughter a long time ago, before I came here. Her name was Zusa. I never intended to leave her, I came here by accident. I don't know how to swim, so when I fell into the lake I drowned automatically."

Link could suddenly see why she seemed so familiar. She was Zusa's mother! "I met your daughter," he said gently. "She's the reason I'm here now. I think she wanted me to come find you."

Gashei shook her head in disbelief. "It's been so long. She must be an old woman by now. It's strange how you forget about age when you've been here for a while. I'm younger than Lala and Samel, yet I still act as their mother." she straightened up, remembering something. "Would you like something to eat? You must be hungry." she didn't wait for his reply but stood up and went to one of the pots brewing in the kitchen. She ladled something that looked like stew into a bowl, which she placed in front of him.

"Thank you," he said, noticing for the first time that day how hungry he was.

"I'm sorry if it's a bit plain," she apologized. "But not much grows here. There is no sun and there is no rain, which makes growing crops extremely difficult, but we somehow manage." she brought a bowl for herself. "If I may ask what are you doing here? To me you seem the sort of young man who would take up the Empress's quest to free us all from the Night."

"You could say that," Link chose to omit he'd actually come for the Essence of the Night. Originally that was what he'd planned, but now he'd seen what the people here were going through he couldn't just ignore their suffering.

"Be careful," Gashei said earnestly. "Many before you have tried to free us, however, all of them died or were lost to us. I don't think I have the heart to let anyone else try, especially now. It's impossible to reach the Empress, let alone talk to her."

"Why did you place a flower on the doorframe?" ne decided to steer the subject away from painful topics.

"Those flowers are midnight blooms. The Empress gave them to us. It is said they only grow within her fortress," she explained. "The flowers are the only thing preventing the beast from entering our homes and slaughtering us all."

"Beast?" the Night was just full of unexpected twists.

"Why do you think it's so dangerous here when it gets dark." she shifted in her seat. "At the stroke of midnight the beast is released. Nobody who has ever seen the beast has lived to tell the tale. Some say it belongs to the Empress and that she has no control over it. Honestly, I don't know what to believe. All I know is that at first light it is gone, like it never existed. Its only instinct is to kill and destroy. Its thirst for blood has cost us many lives."

As she spoke those words the clock behind her struck midnight. The chimes were quickly followed by a savage, ferocious growl that shook the earth and seemed to last for hours. _The time of the beast had come._


End file.
